Isolated Rain
by Solita
Summary: On a cold, rainy November night, Meioh Setsuna takes refuge at a coffee shop. However, this night would change, at the arrival of a uninvited face. Heero/Setsuna (Completed - for Little Weasel Pants, Mistal:Dark Angel, and SaturnActingChick)
1. Intersection 01 : Uninvited

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Isolated Rain  
  
  
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"Be kind to strangers. A 'hello' can go a long way. And who knows, that stranger might not be a stranger at all."  
- Unknown -  
  
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         _Nothing lasts forever, even cold November rain_, she mused with a distant smile on her face, her garnet red heels clicking on the cobblestone pavement while stepping into insignificant, miniscule puddles here and there. The indian red trenchcoat she wore covered her body from the harsh winds, freezing temperatures, and pouring rain emitted from the tempest of the night. Enchanting, mysterious garnet eyes were on high alert, gazing at the places and people she passed as raven locks of hair danced gently in the wind. Umbrella's, scarfs, gloves, and hats of different shapes, styles and colors decorated the streets like a parade on New Year's Eve, her sticking out like a sore thumb as usual. After all, she being the only one without either types of protection in the freezing near below zero temperature would make one stand out. None looked at her as she passed through inside the crowds. They all had their own lives, their own business, their own problems. They didn't have time to look at someone like her and worry for her own safety.   
  
         To be honest, she wouldn't give a damn of someone asked her if she needed a hat, a scarf, a umbrella, or a pair of gloves. A trenchcoat was all she needed, thank you very much. She too didn't have time to worry for her own health. Her health was put aside ever since she was born. Or created? Designed? Whatever. She was the embodiment of time and space itself, she was and still is the guardian of the time stream. Meioh Setsuna, the Senshi of Time and Space, Chronus' daughter. Health was immune to her needs, for she was immortal. One of the strongest curses ever made possible. If she could make a top three list of the worst possible ways to torture a person's soul, it would be the following: third best would be being reborn over and over again according to destiny, second best would be her punishment -- immortality -- and the winner would indefinately be an endless reaccuring nightmare that no soul could awake from. Thankfully, she only had the second best of all agony. Still, it was a torture she wished that could stop.  
  
         The other senshi had lives, something she would never have. They all had something to live for, fullfill their destinies, and after their missions are complete, they could all be reborn as another person with no memories of anything from the past. All of the senshi get to have their own carefree, joyful lives once they are done with the chains of destiny. Being thoughtful for her friends, she took the liberty to check on their future reincarnations, all of them that seemed to be completely in order. She couldn't prevent the sorrows and anguish and horror that came with them. They were apart of life, they were all natural. Life is a contradiction, and she can't go ahead and fix up those contradictions to just one side. The time stream would colapse because of it, and she would cease to exist. _I'm the walking contradiction_, she thought, crossing the street with a gigantic sea of people swarming around the crosswalk like a plague of locsuts, a_nd I have to make sure those contradictions stay._  
  
         Dismissing her unforgivening thoughts for now, Setsuna walked towards the corner coffee shop called "The Jazz Messengers." She had taken a liking to this coffee shop ever since she came to visit this timeline of A.C 205, already thinking about listening to some soothing music with a cup of mocha latté brewing inside her cupped bronze colored hands. Opening the glass green rimmed doors with the silver handle, she walked right in as she swiftly took of her trenchcoat, hanging it up on a coat rack next to the door on her right side. Placing the tip of her hair inside her hands, she tightly squeezed whatever traces of water from the heavens above onto the floor of the shop. Shaking her head, Setsuna straightened her long-sleeved garnet wool shirt, along with her silk black skirt that reached to her ankles. Once satisfied, she walked up to the counter of the coffee shop to place her order.  
  
         "Ohayo Setsuna-san," Matthew greeted with a wave. Setsuna smiled warmly at Matthew. She had been a regular to the small coffee shop for about two months now, and had befriended a worker known as Matthew. His looks were that of someone completely dorky and a computer nerd, greasy bowl-cut chesnut brown hair, thick green glasses, and innocently shaped olive green eyes which always seemed to sparkle with a love for life. Something about that sparkle of his reminded her of Usagi-hime back in the past. Again, Setsuna dimissed those contemplations and decided to take her order.  
  
         "Ohayo Matthew-san," she calmly replied, "I would like to have a medium mocha latté with a side dish of a apple turnover."  
  
         "The usual, right Setsuna-san?" Matthew implied as he totaled up her order. "It comes out to seven sixty-one."  
  
         Taking out her money and placing it on the counter, she inquired, "The usual."  
  
         Matthew took the money from the counter, placing it into the cash register as he said, "Heh. Your spot is open Setsuna-san and your order will be done in ten minutes."  
  
         "Arigatou," Setsuna thanked with a nod, walking towards the right, her low-heeled shoes clicking on the slick floor. Taking the two green colored benched seat with a brown wooden table in the middle, she sat down slowly, closing her eyes as she started to relax in her seat. Setsuna sighed contently, hearing the raindrops fall on the window and the ground, creating the puddles that she was stepping into a while ago. Opening her eyes, she locked her sight onto a small glass vase with a ripe garnet red rose tilted towards the right inside of it. She loved this spot mostly because of the view of the outside and the small rose decorating the table. She always associated red roses to her home with all the senshi.  
  
         Thanks to her peripheral vision, she saw in the corner of her eye a silhoette of a figure wearing a trenchcoat walking inside the coffee shop. Removing her attention from the rose to the figure, Setsuna watched as the new stranger took off the midnight black trenchcoat and hanging it next to her indian red trenchcoat, the two colors mixing together perfectly immediately. She scanned his features quickly: unruly deep chocolate brown hair with long bangs that framed his face, the lenght of his hair that went near enough to his waist, the style tied up in a low ponytail, the body with muscles that looked like he took steriods, a height of at least six feet or more, probably somewhere in the age range of twenty, a chiseled stone face, black silk pants, a green tank top, and emotionless prussian blue eyes with a look of absolutely nothing to them.  
  
         She watched him with cautious garnet red eyes as he walk up to the counter, arms completely crossed. There was something about this guest that made her sense go sky high. Something intriguing about this young boy. Maybe it was the fact that he was completely emotionless, that nothing resourcefully human emitted from his eyes. Setsuna always took into account about people's eyes. Eyes were the window's in people's hearts, minds, and souls. For this man, he seemed to have the window shut, locked, the blinds down, and the curtain closed from anyone nearing him. This proved to be a challenge to Setsuna, and any challenges she met would get conquered no questions asked.  
  
         "Ohayo! Welcome to The Jazz Messengers. May I take your order?" Matthew greeted to the stranger.  
  
         "A medium chocolate cocoa with a pumpkin turnover," he answered in what seemed to be a robotic tone.  
  
         Oblivious to the tone in the man's voice, Matthew totaled up his order quickly, then saying, "That'll be five thirty-two, sir." The man put a ten on the counter, which Matthew took instantly. While he was counting up the man's change, he introduced himself in a cheery voice, "By the way, my name is Matthew! What's yours stranger?"  
  
         "None of your concern," the man snapped back, taking his money from the counter, leaving a dumbfounded Matthew behind.  
  
         "Well hello to you too, Mr. Friendly," Matthew muttered with narrowed eyebrows, dismissing the man's rude attitude and making up his order.  
  
         Although none of the emotions went to her face, Setsuna was appauled by the man's behavior to her new little friend Matthew. She now knew she had to figure out this guy before she left. What startled her was that this stranger, this uninvited guest, was walking straight to her table. Before she could protest, he walked over to her and sat on the opposite chair of her table.   
  
         "You've been watching me," he stated, Setsuna taking into account he had just as sharp senses as she does.  
  
         "Your point is?" Setsuna asked, slightly raising an eyebrow.  
  
         "People always have an objective to watch someone," he answered cooly, locking his prussian blue eyes with her garnet red eyes.  
  
         A faint smile appeared on her lips as she replied, "You interest me."  
  
         His eyes narrowed as he asked, "How?"  
  
         "Why? What? When? Who? Where? All questions that can't be answered," Setsuna mused, crossing her ankles as he layed her hands folded on the table, adding to her comment, "because that would be telling."  
  
         "And you don't tell stories?" he mused.  
  
         "I used to," Setsuna answered, her faint smile still plastered on, "but people should figure it out for themselves."  
  
         And all he did was smile faintly, just like Setsuna.  
  
         A period of silence between the two strangers conquered their conversation until the arrival of two medium sized cups and two different types of turnovers were placed on their table. Setsuna looked up to see Matthew, grinning like a fool as usual. _I swear, he must be a long-lost brother of Usagi-hime's_, Setsuna thought, her eyes somewhat twinkling at the thought of Usagi back home. She longed to hug Hotaru-chan and her saying Setsuna-mama, to see Michiru and Haruka greet her home, and watch as the other senshi came along and wished her home. The images of home faded away as she nodded to Matthew.  
  
         "Arigatou again," Setsuna thanked, taking a sip of her latté.  
  
         "No trouble!" Matthew said, waving once again and returning back to the counter.  
  
         Once Matthew was gone, she looked towards the man, who just seemed to look at his cocoa in deep thought. His prussian blue eyes seem to have opened the curtians to his window somewhat, but she still couldn't pierce through the rest. She sighed, taking another sip of her latté and gracefully putting it onto her plate. With her hands folded, she took her gaze to the outside, watching as the people ran through the rain, trying to find protection from the harshness of the tempest. Setsuna smiled, for no reason at all. It just seemed to curl up on her face without herself even noticing it. However, someone else did.  
  
         "Why are you smiling?" her uninvited guest asked.  
  
         "So full of questions," she chuckled slightly, "you remind me of a small child. So pure, so innocent."  
  
         "So opposite me," he grimly answered, catching Setsuna off guard.  
  
         "What?" she asked, wide-eyed at his outburst.  
  
         "I don't repeat myself," he muttered, taking a sip of his cocoa.  
  
         "You are a fascination, none of your concern," Setsuna whispered, taking a sip of her latté once again.  
  
         He slowly blinked once with an immesurable silence, then whispering, "Pardon?"  
  
         "None of your concern is your name, isn't it?" Setsuna mused, amusement in her voice.  
  
         "Hn" he grunted, closing his eyes and taking a bite of his pumpkin turnover.  
  
         "Oh, it's hn then?" she asked with a smile on her face.  
  
         Once he swallow his bite of pumpkin turnover, he opened his prussian blue eyes and whispered, "Baka."   
  
         Silence and solitude from each other controlled their conversation once again, as the two ate their turnovers and drank their own drinks. Blues music played over the speakers, soothing Setsuna entirely. She had taken a liking to blues music, for it calmed her nerves whenever she was tense or was completely lonely. She instantly recognized it as one of B.B. King's songs, _A World Filled With Strangers_. Another reason for liking the small coffee shop was that "The Jazz Messengers" was that this was the only coffee shop that played old and new jazz and blues tunes throughout the Earth's Sphere and colonies. She started humming to the beginning of the song, and before she knew it, she started singing some of the lyrics.  
  
         "_You and me don't see eye to eye on every little thing_," she whispered going with the beat of the song, "_We've missed a lot of sunshine and caught a lot of rain. If you want to leave I can't make you stay_ --"  
  
         "-- _But there is something I have to say_," her guest finished for her. "I guess the song kind of fits the situation, don't you think?"  
  
         "Indeed," Setsuna agreed, with a smile as she said, "there's a world full of strangers out there. A world full of strangers."  
  
         "Beware," he said, faintly smirking as he took another sip of his drink. "I tend to like the song, _Ain't That Just Like A Woman_. A friend of mine would have liked that song too."  
  
         "And that's because?" she inquired.  
  
         "He's a chauvinistic pig," he mused, finishing up his cocoa.  
  
         "And your not?" she asked, completely amused at this fact.  
  
         "Nope, just women troubles," he said with a large sigh, "a lot of women troubles."  
  
         Deciding not to push it, Setsuna left it at that. She looked into his eyes again, knowing that the deeper the conversation got, the more the window to his soul started to unlock. The curtains were open, the blinds were up, the locks were gone, but somehow that window would not shut open. Setsuna sighed, giving into the defeat that this was one man she couldn't open into. She finished her latté, placing the cup on the plate. Before silence could reign again between the two of them, she opened her mouth once again.  
  
         "Meioh Setsuna," she introduced herself as.  
  
         "Hmm?" he asked, Setsuna noticing that he was deep in thought a minute ago.  
  
         "Meioh Setsuna, that is my name," she clarified. "I'll be leaving soon, and I thought you would like to know who this stranger is."  
  
         "Your not a stranger anymore," he whispered, finishing up the last bite of his turnover. "Yuy Heero is my name."  
  
         "Gundam Pilot 01," she stated.  
  
         "I'm not surprised you know. Everyone these days seem to know who I am," he stated, getting ready to leave. "But, who exactly are you?"  
  
         "Just another uninvited guest," she whispered, finishing up her turnover. "It was a pleasure to meet you Heero-san. I hope to talk to you once again."  
  
         "Likewise, Setsuna-san," he whispered, smiling generously to Setsuna. Both got up and went to the coatrack to get their own trenchcoats, indian red for Setsuna, midnight black for Heero. As they put on their trenchcoats, they locked eyes for a moment. Within both of themselves, they seemed to look inside each windows to their souls. Setsuna had finally opened his window to the inside of his soul. And still she found the same thing: Nothing. Absolutely nothing. But then, she searched deeper, and there it was.  
  
         Loneliness, the same emotion she had.  
  
         "Would you..." Setsuna started as she looked deeper into his prussian blue eyes, "like some company?"  
  
         And that's when she saw a smile on his face, completely genuine.  
  
         "I would be glad if you could, Setsuna-chan."  
  
         Thus they walked out together, side by side, talking back and forth, in the cold November rain.  
  
  


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"True love begins when nothing is looked for in return."  
- Antoine De Saint-Exupery -  
  
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	2. Intersection 02 : Sweet Pain

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Isolated Rain  
  
  
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"No one can choose where we will love."  
- Erik, from _Phantom_ -  
  
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         _You still desire to haunt me, November rain?_ Setsuna thought to herself as she looked out the window of her apartment in Tokyo, amusement clearly in her contemplations. A vase filled with a dozen garnet red roses, the drops of rain still fresh on them, was on her windowsill. A red ribbon was tied around it, a small card planted inside it. In the deepest, perfect cursive Setsuna had ever seen was her name, embroided with an ivory lace around it and gold glitter that sparkled in the light and in the darkness. She smiled, looking at the gift that was sent to her today from Heero. It had been only twenty-four hours since her conversation with Heero to his apartment in the southern part of Tokyo.   
  
         The conversation was interesting as Heero talked of his past missions, the doctor that raised him, a man known as Odin Lowe that found him, and the comrades that he befriended in the time of warfare. She could still remember the order that Heero had put them in -- Duo Maxwell, an laid-back, dedicated American, Chang Wufei, a chavenistic, proud Chinese, Quatre Raberba Winner, a polite, charming Arabian, and Trowa Barton, a silent, nonchalant, and wise advisor of all the pilots. All tattered by the war, all having different stories to tell, and all of them keeping in touch. All of them -- except Heero Yuy.  
  
         She smiled, remembering exactly what happened in that conversation.  
  
_         "You never utter a word to them about your well-being?" she asked, completely flabbergasted that such a man wouldn't even talk to his friends that she knew he cared for.  
  
         "They have lives, they have a family, they have someone to come home to," he said, looking at Setsuna with his intense prussian blue eyes. "I don't have anyone. I'm still that wandering soldier waiting for orders."  
  
         "You do, you have your friends," Setsuna stated, no emotions in her voice. Her garnet eyes held the same intensity that Heero had in his own eyes. Moments later, a condensending smile formed on Heero's lips, making Setsuna raise her eyebrows on his sudden outburst of thought and emotion.  
  
         "Who said I wasn't watching over them?" he asked, completely amused by Setsuna's look.  
  
         Forgiveness glazed over her garnet eyes as she said, "I just assumed--"  
  
         "-- yeah, assumption by proclimation. It's alright, it's human nature, Setsuna-chan," he mused, a glint of mirth twinkling on the outskirts of his eyes. "We all can't hide from our natural instincts."  
  
         "You can," she whispered, almost regretting what she said.  
  
         "Because I was trained to," he whispered back, his eyes still glittering with mirth like no other. "After all, you said it yourself, I am a fascination."  
  
         "Can I take that back, I have a different word in mind now," Setsuna joked, a chuckle threatening to release.  
  
         "Let me think about that--no," he said quickly, creating that stiffled chuckle to release from her mouth.  
  
_          The same chuckle from before came through her vocal cords once again, closing her eyes as if she was trying to carve that conversation in her memory. _Heero_, the word whispered in her mind, creating an illuminating echo that would haunt her just like the November rain did. However, just as quickly as the smile had gone on her face did it fade away like a horrible nightmare that followed her wherever she went. She knew what was happening to her. Setsuna couldn't let it happen. Not to a person like Heero. He had so much to live for, he didn't need to know about her curse.  
  
         Goddess, how she wanted to live. To be free from his deathly curse called immortality. If she would bond, or even befriend the young adult of only twenty years, she would hurt him so much. Setsuna knew she would have to be called back of anything wrong happened in the past, or even the future for that matter. Intimacy was not her friend, even if she longed for a companion to talk to. To hold and to cherish. Someone she could call her own, someone she could just love for the rest of her forsaken immortal life. She refused to put Heero through it. She refused to let him know who she was. She refused to let him understand what immortality was like. She didn't want to add so much torture to his already agonized life. They would just be acquaintences, maybe even friends. But that's how far she would have it.  
  
         _Gomen nasai, Heero-san_, she thought, still looking at the card held by the red ribbon, her hands inching to open it. _Demo, I have to protect you... from me. I'll still be you friend, though. Always your friend... even if we share the same lonliness._ Sighing, she ran a hand through her raven black hair, her eyes wandering from the vase to the wooden clock on her mantlepiece which set neatly over the small fireplace that came with the apartment. The two little hands read 3:32, making Setsuna sigh. _Great, The Jazz Messengers closes at 3:30 today. And I wanted another cafe latté,_ Setsuna thought, pouting slightly. Disregarding whatever she had on her mind, Setsuna decided that a night out in the town would be best for her. Maybe seeing a movie or an opera or a theatrical performance -- whatever it was, just something that could loosen her mind up from everything around her.  
  
         Deciding to go to the Tokyo Dome and see if anything was playing, Setsuna grabbed her overcoat, the same that she wore when she met Heero. Thinking about Heero again, Setsuna's eyes clouded over, remembering the conversation she had when they were walking together in the rain. Opening the door to her apartment and locking it behind her, Setsuna replayed back the part of the conversation when she immediately tensed up after Heero asked her that fateful question and the last words that haunted her mind like a broken record.  
  
_         "What's wrong Setsuna-chan?" he whispered, though no emotions ran through, worry read clearly in his prussian blue eyes.  
  
         "Gomen," she whispered back, then adding as if everything was normal, "I just zoned out there for a moment. What did you say again, Heero-san?"  
  
         "I asked about your past, Setsuna. I told you things about me, why not things about you?" he asked.  
  
         A grim look was plastered on her face, her garnet eyes clouded with such misery and despair, as she answered in a mistful tone, "To speak about my past is reading through a million history books. Time is too short for mortal hands. You would die before knowing the entire truth."  
  
         "It hasn't stopped me before," Heero stated.  
  
         "When it comes to me, it will," she stated grimly, her gaze moving from Heero to the murky clouds above.  
  
         A silence grimmed over as Heero's apartment was in their sights. Side by side they walked together, only the defiancy of the raindrops falling around them the only sound emitting in the hush. She glanced over to Heero, his prussian blue eyes locked up from all emotions once again. She sighed, knowing she lost the open windows of his soul. They were clouded over, and gone were the sparkles of life she once saw. Without knowing it, they were at the front door of his apartment.   
  
         "Well, sayo--"  
  
         Before she could finish, he faced Setsuna eye to eye while whispering, "A past can be hidden forever, but the ghosts riding within will never waver. Remember that, Setsuna-chan."  
  
         With that, he opened the door, and closed it behind him.  
_   
         Deep in thought from the conversation of beforehand, Setsuna hailed for a taxi with her garnet red leather gloved right hand. A yellow taxi cab quickly parked on the side of the curb as Setsuna opened the door and slided inside, sitting on the plush leather seats. She closed the door behind her, settling into her seat. Her garnet eyes looked at the license on the right, which had the driver's picture and his name in bold letters, "Louis D. Romero." Judging by the last name, her driver must have been of Spanish decent. Sure enough, when she looked up, she saw a forty year old man with copper skin, slick blackish brown hair, and a mustache. He had a blue baseball cap on his head as he turned the corner of her street, and heading towards the freeway.  
  
         His jovial green eyes looked in the rear view mirror, locking with Setsuna's garnet red eyes. Seeing him smile slightly, he asked with a thick Spanish accent, "Where are you going, senorita?"  
  
         "Tokyo Dome," she answered bluntly.  
  
         "Alright," he answered quickly, heading onto the freeway towards the Tokyo Dome.  
  
         Setsuna gazed out her window, her eyes clouding over as she thought about Heero. If you only knew, she thought, watching the rain patter on her windowsill. _The rain looks like his eyes_, she thought as a condesending smile reached to her face. However, she quickly wiped it away with the sudden thought of, _What the hell did I just think?_ Was she falling in love with him? A total stranger? Maybe not total because of the long conversation they had. But still. Love? To her, Heero was a friend, an acquaintance, nothing more. She knew his past... damn. She was the stranger, the uninvited guest. He knew nothing about her. Absolutely nothing.  
  
         Was this what she wanted? Did she want to be alone forever? What she truely wanted for herself... and for him? _Kami-sama_, she thought, resting her face into her hands. She didn't know. She needed him to stay away, to make sure he was never hurt. To her him -- that was worse than any agony. Immortality, eternal awakening, incarnation, all of them combined. To her a poor, innocent soul like Heero's was worse than anything she could imagine. Sighing, she laid her head back, the garnet orbs that lit up her face still clouded like a downcast of azure rain.   
  
         _I didn't even read his card_, she thought, closing her eyes.  
  
         _I can't read his card_, she thought again, as a tear cascaded down her face.   
  
         _And I won't read his card_, she thought as the tear stayed, similar to the dewdrops on the roses.  
  
         And as the taxi raced down the highway, she whispered outloud so that only herself could regard her words.  
  
  
         "But I love him so much, I will never hurt him, as long as I shall live."  
  
  


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"... Him that I love, I wish to be free -- even from me."  
- Anne Spencer Morrow Lindbergh -   
  
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	3. Intersection 03 : Little Wing

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Isolated Rain  
  
  
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"You will know the meaning of love when you fall in love."  
- A. Terance Dinesh -   
  
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         _Love is mearly madness_, Heero thought as he took a wiff of his cigarette, breathing in it's toxins as he let loose the soothing smoke from his lips. He had taken up the addiction two years ago, and he hasn't regretted taking up the "unforgiveable" sin he committed since then. For a person that killed infinite lives, he had nothing else to live for, so why not torture the body and soul that did all the atrocities? It was his body and he could do whatever he damn well pleased with it. Sure, he could try every drug in sight and drink alcohol until he puked, thus making him dead the next morning due to an overdose of numerous demons. However, Heero wanted to keep that to himself. He didn't want anybody knowing where he was. Not even his friends.   
  
         Heero smirked with the cigarette hanging at the tips of his lips. Clouded prussian blue eyes wandered back to the darkness of his mind, unlocking a sacred vault that held all of the memories he cherished. He could just imagine Quatre yelling at him like a mother hen about the dangers and diseases from smoking, yet estatic he could meet his friend again. He could see Trowa hovering over Quatre like a father filled with wisdom and intellegence, his emerald green eye narrowed definately, but if he could see the other eye underneath his unibang, Heero knew he would see twinkles of merriment and excitement. Duo would probably be making jokes and scolding at the same time, being obnoxious and considerate as ever for the well-being of a best friend. And Wufei, like usual, would be saying that smoking is an injustice and somehow, someway, would blame smoking on women.  
  
         _I wouldn't really be surprised_, he mused, taking another wiff of his cigarette as he leaned his head back into the leather cushioned chair. If he would ever meet up with the other ex-Gundam pilots again, they probably wouldn't even notice him at all. For instance, he's not the five foot, one inch lanky sixteen year old hacker anymore. He's the six feet, four inch Adonis-structured twenty year old hacker that smokes. Even if he introduced himself as Heero Yuy, they still wouldn't believe him. Maybe after a couple of tries and saying the infamous, "Omae o korosu" line with his trusty gun coming out of nowhere, then they would believe him, hands down and without a shadow of a doubt. No one alive could immitate the things he did back during the war, and even nowadays. Never can, never will, never ever.  
  
         But should he live... for Setsuna?  
  
         _Setsuna_, the thought whispered into his mind, willowing inside that made him cherish the word instantly. He smiled inwardly, wondering how and what she was doing at this very second. He remember her so vividly, like a dream on a sunny afternoon in August. Silky long black hair that echoed waves of the nightfall, sparkled and twinkled stars in forest green gleem, her fair mocha colored skin that he wished to touch, and pouted, full garnet red lips that seemed to give away a scent of raspberries that he just wanted to kiss. All of her was a perfect woman in his ideal view, but what astonished him entirely was her eyes. The garnet eyes matched his eyes entirely. Two different colors -- prussian blue and garnet red -- yet they held total obscurity. His held lonliness, stoticism, and nonchalant. Setsuna was different completely. Those garnet eyes of wisdom, those garnet eyes of myst itself, those garnet eyes of death.  
  
         Yes, he could see through her. Even through the clouded fog that nestled comfortable inside her eyes, Heero could pierce straight through it entirely. After years of warfare, he could detect the sight and twinkles of death inside anyone's eyes. But why her? Why Setsuna? She seemed carefree, she was an innocent. But he couldn't deny the instincts and intellegence he weld. Meioh Setsuna was more that what met the eye, Heero could tell the minute he asked her about her past. She hesitated, wandered off into another world, a pure blank look clearly overshadowing her garnet eyes at the time. He slightly smirked when she did that. Assumptions had been made proclimations.  
  
         However, he could tell from Setsuna she couldn't do the unthinkable. She couldn't love him. For whatever reason it was, Heero didn't know and wouldn't know. Unless Setsuna weld it to be, he couldn't know. Sadly, Heero couldn't either. He was a soldier, a perfect soldier to be exact. No, with more approximation -- he was, and still is, The Perfect Soldier. Emotions would kill him, eat him up alive. Sure, some emotions were rational. Mirth, sadness, and hope -- three emotions he could at least cope with. But mercy? Rage? Love? No, it couldn't be. He couldn't have anymore emotions rule his life. Three was enough for him. Setsuna would only be a friend, nothing more, nothing less.  
  
         In a way, they were one in the same.  
  
         "Fuck, this is giving me a damn headache," he muttered underneath is breath, rubbing his temples slightly. After thinking so hard after what seemed like hours on end, Heero sat up from his chair, grabbing the keys to his apartment, and walking out of the living room to the front door. Opening it up, he slammed it behind him, locking the door in a swift motion. While doing so, he flicked the charred cigarette from his lips which landed perfectly in the puddle next to him, while he took out another one. Lighting it up with his blue oil lighter, he walked down the sidewalk, deciding that he would go somewhere that could at least erase his mind of everything. A day out, since _The Jazz Messangers_ were closed today. He lurked into his side pocket on his right, taking out his Aiwa portable CD player and radio with connected black Sony headphones. Flipping the switch to on, he started listening to the radio while placing the headphones over his ears, wiffing the cigarette placed delicately on the tips of his lips.  
  
         This had become a custom to Heero ever since he "disappeared" after the incident with Mariemaia. Music seemed to be the only thing that held the shattered pieces of his soul together. He didn't care what type it was -- jazz, blues, classical rock, J-pop, techno, eletronica, oldies -- it didn't matter to the soldier. Fiddling around with the radio tuner, he kept on searching for a good song to listen to. Anything to get his mind off the things rambling and running around in his mind. Minutes later, he found a good song on. He didn't know the title, and he hadn't hear it before, but it was so soothing and it caught his attention immediately.  
  
         While hailing his arm for a taxi, he listened to the song.  
  
         // _Well she's walking through the clouds  
         With a circus mind that's running round  
         Butterflies and zebras  
         And moonbeams and fairy tales  
         That's all she ever thinks about  
         Riding with the wind_ //  
  
         As a yellow taxi pulled up to him, he took another puff of his cigarette and threw it to the ground, then placing his Aiwa portable CD player back into his pocket so that it wouldn't get wet anymore. He opened up the door, getting into the taxi and sitting on the cushioned leather seat. With alert eyes, his eyes wandered towards the man's license on the right, finding out the man's name was "Louis D. Romero." _Spainard_, he thought instantly, not even looking at the man's features. In the corner of Heero's eyes, he locked his prussian blue orbs with the man's forest green eyes.  
  
         "And you are headed where?" Louis asked with his thick Spanish accent, the car going back onto the road again.  
  
         "Anyplace where I can relax," he replied, turning up the music.  
  
         "Tokyo Dome it is then," the driver muttered underneath his breath, going onto the freeway once again.   
  
         // _When I'm sad, she comes to me  
         With a thousand smiles, she gives to me free  
         It's alright she says it's alright  
         Take anything you want from me, anything  
         Anything..._ //  
  
         The scenery changed every second, faster than what he could count or fathom. It didn't matter to Heero at all though. His thoughts were racing a mile a minute, even though he was trying not to think. Trying wasn't the exact term to describe what he was doing, but it was close enough. It was the constant thought of the present he sent to Setsuna only hours ago, but what seemed to be days in Heero's view. Over and over again he kept on imagining Setsuna's look on her face when she read his card. He still couldn't believe he wrote the card. It was something extremely not like him, like he had changed into a manevolent creature of emotions within twenty-four hours.  
  
         Outside his window, he looked to see one lone raven flying above in the murky clouds, it's gleeming dark coat of feathers upstaging the tempest above. _The wings look like Setsuna's hair_, he mused, smiling at the rememberance of the mysterious woman. He blinked once, realizing what he was thinking a second ago. Frowning internally, he wanted to punch himself for even thinking that way. No more emotions for The Perfect Soldier. Especially the most dreaded feeling of all. He couldn't put himself through the pain, and he couldn't do the same to Setsuna. What if another war broke out again? What if he had to go protect Relena and the Earth Sphere? What if he died and left Setsuna all by herself? All the worries, all the questions, all the doubts -- he couldn't answer them. There were none out there for him to find.  
  
         _I can't love her_, he thought, determination seeking in entirely.  
  
         _I know she doesn't want to either_, he thought again while sighing inwardly.  
  
         _And I guess, that's all we can do to survive life itself,_ he thought thrice, looking at the raven still.  
  
         It was then that another raven, just as dark and as outstanding at the other, fluttered next to the one Heero first saw, the two synchronized as if they were one. With his sharp, keen vision, he could see the color of their eyes. One was a lyrical shade of blue and the other was a lucidious shade of red. _Garnet and prussian_, he thought, the mirth he held that only Setsuna had seen seething through his prussian blue crystals again. Maybe it was a sign, maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe it was fate or destiny or just simply apart of life.  
  
         He would never know.  
  
         // _Fly on little wing,  
         Yeah yeah, yeah, little wing..._ //  
  
         "Fly on," he whispered, smirking with undeniable passion in his eyes.  
  
  


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"You call it madness, but I call it love."  
- Don Byas -  
  
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	4. Intersection 04 : I Don't Wanna Miss A T...

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Isolated Rain  
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"The heart has reasons that reason does not understand."  
- Blaise Pascal -  
  
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         _The courses of true love never did run smooth_, Heero mused when he thought about a book he once read in the library when he was young. It was Shakespeare, one of the oldest and famous writers of poetry, drama, and literature. He didn't remember the book, only a quote that seemed to stick within his mind. He smiled slightly, but it faded away like the moonlight lost within the foam of the sea. After he walked of the taxi cab, paying the Spainard his money. As he saw the taxi racing off down the street in the rain in the corner of his eye, he cracked his neck and turned off the radio to his Aiwa CD player. Placing both of his hands deeply into his pockets, he walked up to the front of the Tokyo Dome, looking to see what was playing tonight. Up in lights was some unknown band's name, which unphased Heero like usual. Neutral as ever, he walked towards the ticket booth, which seemed to be empty of people.  
  
         "It's sold out," someone whispered behind him.  
  
         He didn't even have to turn around, as Heero whispered back, "Konbanwa Setsuna-chan."  
  
         Setsuna smiled as she mused, "It seems coincidence rides between the two of us, does it not?"  
  
         "Or maybe it's fate," he mused back, turning around.  
  
         Prussian blue clashed with garnet red once again, looking into each other souls for what seemed years of waiting and wanting. The rain of chastity poured upon them like tears from heaven, but they were what seemed the glory of happiness rather than a taboo of misery. Both of them stared into each other, the two standing the same -- hands digged within their pockets of their trenchcoats, hair getting damp from the outpour of rain, and the gleam of passion seemed to range within their eyes. It was only the distinct colors of skin, hair, eyes, and the their own body figures that contrasted with one another.  
  
         Questions, conserns, comments, inquires, suggestions -- they all seemed to lock between the two of their lonley souls of apathy. Even through the dusk of stillness, they were talking to each other with the chains of perpectual sorrow. Both were looking for answers they wanted to hear, both were looking for the hope that they desired, both were looking for each other. Their other self, the other part of their soul, the other he, the other she, the other. That's all they wanted. But as they looked into each other eyes, the answer seemed clear as crystal itself. It wasn't to be.  
  
         Faster and faster did the rain pour, a flood of water pouring down each of their faces, but they seemed not to care. It was then that they just started walking together, side by side, like they did the first time they met at The Jazz Messangers. However, this time, they weren't talking back and forth about past memories or lives or anything of the nature. They were just walking in the silent rain, the harsh rain, the November rain. That's all they could do, that's all they would do, that's all they did. And they wouldn't have it any other way. However, the silence wouldn't continue. Once they reached the park, Heero spoke up first.  
  
         "Would you..." he started, looking into Setsuna's eyes again, "like to go to the park?"  
  
         Noticing the irony in his statement, Setsuna gave a completely genuine smile.  
  
         "I would like that very much... Heero-chan."  
  
         // _I could stay awake just to hear you breathing   
         Watch you smile while you are sleeping   
         While you're far away and dreaming   
         I could spend my life in this sweet surrender   
         I could stay lost in this moment forever   
         Well, every moment spent with you   
         Is a moment I treasure_ //  
  
         _Everybody needs somebody_, Setsuna mused, remembering a song that fit the situation that she and Heero were in currently. Together they walked into the park, which she clearly knew as "Strawberry Park," a memorial to the destroyed and original Strawberry Park in New York City. Tokyo was chosen for Goddess knows what reason to create the new Strawberry Park. It was an exact replica of the original park, but the spirit of the park was long gone and nothing could replace it. As they walked by, she spotted a rose bush, the drops of rain still fresh on them.  
  
         She gulped entirely, remembering the vase of dewdrop roses that Heero gave to her today. _I never read his card_, she thought, scared of what he might say. _What if he asks if I liked the card? I don't know how to respond_, she thought again, her garnet eyes worried entirely. _If only she hadn't thought of herself at the time instead of Heero. I was so selfish_, she thought, one tear straining down her face, _I don't care about anyone but myself. He doesn't deserve me._  
  
         However, before she could finish her self-accusation of pity, she felt a soft, gentle hand touch her face, wiping away her lone tear. Gasping, she turned around, wondering who could sense her crying with the rain pouring as fast as it was. To her relief, and her horror, it was Heero, a solemn glint clearly there in his prussian blue eyes. Without her knowing, more tears poured from her eyes, but she was too much in shock and in worry to turn away and unlock the gaze she had with Heero. Then, without warning, he bluntly and emotionlessly said the five words that Setsuna didn't expect to hear.  
  
         "You didn't read my card."  
  
         // _I don't wanna close my eyes   
         I don't wanna fall asleep   
         'Cause I'd miss you, baby   
         And I don't wanna miss a thing   
  
         'Cause even when I dream of you   
         The sweetest dream would never do   
         I'd still miss you, baby   
         And I don't wanna miss a thing_ //  
  
         "Heero," Setsuna started, but she couldn't finish it. Another shock came to her system as Heero smiled compassionately.  
  
         "It's human nature, Setsuna," he whispered all-knowingly. "Assumptions by proclimations. You can't fight it and neither can I. I know you Setsuna-chan, you are scared. Scared of a past that I don't know, and I wish not to know because you weld it so. That's why you didn't read it, and I..."   
  
         He paused, looking away from her, sighing entirely as she watched him succumb to an emotion that she seemed to notice he didn't want to give into. "I forgive you," he whispered, looking into her eyes, "but remember, I am here, and I will wait until you are ready to tell."  
  
         Gulping down her tears, she responded, "Heero, you don't know anything about me, but... you --"  
  
         "-- Care so much that I will surrender?" he inquired, mirth clearly in his eyes. Slowly, an ironic smile hindered on his face as he added, "Yeah, I know. I know all too well."  
  
         "Why then?" she asked, not even knowing she said those words, her mind off in another world.  
  
         And then he said those three magical words that seemed all too good to be true.  
  
         "I love you."  
  
         // _Lying close to you   
         Feeling your heart beating   
         And I'm wondering what you're dreaming   
         Wondering if it's me you're seeing   
         Then I kiss your eyes   
         And thank God we're together   
         And I just wanna stay with you   
         In this moment forever, forever and ever_ //  
  
         She didn't gasp, she didn't move, she didn't breathe. No sounds emitted through her ears or registered with her mind. She couldn't believe what he just said. It was like a story from a fairytale, extremely unreal and imaginary. The rain was silent as ever, contradicting with the fastest pace of downpour she had ever seen. All Setsuna could do was looking into the man that just said the three most daring words ever held worthy in human history. In any language, in any country, in an dimension, those three words were the ones that pledges devotion and passion to one person.  
  
         And Setsuna couldn't believe it.  
  
         She blinked once, and whispered so gently, it seemed to echo.  
  
         "You... do?"  
  
         // _I don't wanna close my eyes   
         I don't wanna fall asleep   
         'Cause I'd miss you, baby   
         And I don't wanna miss a thing  
  
         'Cause even when I dream of you   
         The sweetest dream would never do   
         I'd still miss you, baby   
         And I don't wanna miss a thing_ //  
  
         He wasn't perfect anymore. He said he wouldn't succumb to emotions, especially love. But as he said before, it's human nature. He was bound to attain all of his emotions sooner or later, with or without him knowing it. However, he knew someday that certain someone would come along. Relena was off in her own world, and even if she still cared for him, she was nothing compared to Setsuna. Relena was too much of an idealist, Setsuna had the aura of a realist. Meioh Setsuna, with the clouded mist of sorrow, mystery, and lonliness reigning around her, was in a way an aspect of himself -- a perfect soldier. But just like her, they both gave up those titles. They weren't perfect, but they weren't imperfect. They were who they were, and that's all they could be.  
  
         So when she whispered innocently and obliviousness, he just had to smile.  
  
         And that's when he held her hand with his mind, body, and soul.  
  
         "Hai, Setsuna-koi."  
  
         // _I don't wanna miss one smile   
         I don't wanna miss one kiss   
         Well, I just wanna be with you   
         Right here with you, just like this   
  
         I just wanna hold you close   
         Feel your heart so close to mine   
         And just stay here in this moment   
         For all the rest of time _//  
  
         In only one day, her world had been turned upside down by the meeting of one lonely person in the rain. Beforehand, she would have thought it ludicris to fall in love with someone within 24 hours. But this was so right, so normal, so... perfect. She didn't sense anything wrong with this. It was just ment to be. Heero was her soulmate, her other side, and nothing would seperate them. Setsuna moved her hand, grasping it with Heero's. _So warm_, she thought, the rain around her completely ignored from the depths of her mind. She smiled with all the love she could give, giving the answer that Heero desired as well. One day he would know. One day he would understand her past. One day he would understand the curse she was bestowed upon. But not yet. Not yet. And not now. Especially now.  
  
         So when she heard his words and the passion held within, she just had to cry in happiness.  
  
         And that's when she hugged him with all the love she had.  
  
         "And I love you too, Heero-koi."  
  
         // _Don't wanna close my eyes   
         Don't wanna fall asleep   
         'Cause I'd miss you, baby   
         And I don't wanna miss a thing   
  
         'Cause even when I dream of you   
         The sweetest dream would never do   
         'Cause I'd still miss you, baby   
         And I don't wanna miss a thing_ //  
  
         "The November rain will stay with us forever," she whispered, leaning her head onto his chest.  
  
         "It's not November rain," he whispered, moving her chin with his right hand.  
  
         "Then what is it?" she asked, smiling sweetly to her love.  
  
         // _I don't wanna close my eyes   
         I don't wanna fall asleep   
         'Cause I'd miss you, baby   
         And I don't wanna miss a thing_ //  
  
         "It's rain that is lonely for companionship, just like us," he said with such wisdom. "It's isolated rain."  
  
         She chuckled as she whispered, leaning closer, "Your such a poet."  
  
         "I didn't even know it," he chuckled as well, closing his eyes as she did as well.  
  
         // _'Cause even when I dream of you   
         The sweetest dream would never do   
         I'd still miss you, baby   
         And I don't wanna miss a thing_ //  
  
         And underneath the isolated rain, in Strawberry Park, two souls became one.  
  
         Two minds and hearts never knew the meaning of lonliness again.  
  
         And Heero and Setsuna kissed with all the love they had.  
  
         // _Don't wanna close my eyes   
         Don't wanna fall asleep, yeah   
         I don't wanna miss a thing   
         I don't wanna miss a thing_ //  
  
         With that, the rain stopped, and the sunlight finally arrived.  
  
         After all, nothing lasts forever.  
  
         Even Isolated Rain.  
  
  


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"True love doesn't have a happy ending: true love doesn't have an ending."  
- Anonymous -   
  
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-- fin --   
  
  
  
**In Dedication**  
  
_For Little Weasel Pants, SaturnActingChick, and Mistal: Dark Angel,  
in which this fanfiction you have just read would never have been  
thought up, finished, and re-posted onto this site for your viewing  
pleasure. I can't thank you guys enough! ^_^_

  
  
  
  



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